Warriors: An Omen Unseen: Burning Light
by Th Ghst f Slss Frnc
Summary: The Clans have been at the Lake for generations and old heros such as Firestar and Brambleclaw have long since joined the ranks of StarClan. Now, an old threat has reared its ugly head--the two-legs and their dirt turning monsters have returned.
1. Chapter 1: Acceptance

_A/N: Hello! This is my second Warriors Fanfic and I hope you all like it. Hopefully, I will be posting an allegiances and a Prologue soon. Well, in the next few days--I have been playing around with the allegiances already. This chapter will be written in ThunderClan's POV, solely from the perspective of Spiderpelt--later on other Clans' POVs may be used with different OCs. So, yeah._

_Just FYI, Spiderpelt is a sort of skinny, long-legged tom that has dark brown fur and one black ear. Just, for those of you who, you know, actually care about minor details like that--like me and my OCD._

_This Fanfic, except for StarClan, is all OC characters--okay? So, yeah._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, Erin Hunter does. I'm just glad I can write on Fanfiction until I--hopefully--become an author myself._

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**Chapter 1: Acceptance (Day 1)**

Spiderpelt woke up slowly, being pulled slowly from unconsciousness by a constant jabbing in his side. He groaned and curled up tighter, his tail tucked over his nose. Ugh. What was that smell? It was disgusting!

"Wake up, Spiderpelt! Wake up now!"

Whoever was nudging him was now yowling his head off. Yeah, it was a tom....the frantic mew was so deep it only made sense.

"Fox dung, Spiderpelt!"

Wow. Whoever was mad now.

Ouch!

He jerked awake as thorn sharp claws poked into him. He looked around wildly, his vision blurred and muddled up--reeling crazily. He shook his head, blinking his eyes rapidly, and his vision cleared, but the fog remained. He was in the Warriors Den, and all of the other moss nests were oddly empty and looked like some cat had run over them multiple times. The bramble overhead seemed untouched, but brittle in the greenleaf heat, only added to by the roaring heat that seemed oddly out of place. Too hot to be normal....

He looked up into Stonefang's piercing eyes and was just even more confused. There was urgency to every one of Stonefang's jerky movements as he paced right in front of him, tail lashing as he stepped away from him, eyes now wide with fear and bright with pain.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, unsure of why Stonefang had decided to roughly wake him like that.

"Smell the air!" the light gray tabby hissed, eyes blazing.

He took a sniff and realized then why his throat hurt so badly. The acid scent of smoke, harsh and woodsy, hit his nose and made his eyes water.

"Get up now!" Stonefang snarled and grabbed him by his scruff, not waiting for him to even get to his paws before he started dragging.

He quickly jumped to his paws and stumbled after Stonefang--whose sharp teeth were still grasping his scruff, his one hooked fang digging in so hard he started to smell his own blood. He shook off the broad-shoulder tom's clenching hold and stumbled off into the middle of camp.

"Hurry up and stop gawking like a mouse-brain!" Stonefang hissed crossly, anger contorting his face into an angry snarl--which shocked him. He'd never seen Stonefang show any emotion like this--he'd only seen the tom perfectly calm, almost poised.

He took another breath and coughed loudly. "What can I do?" he asked finally. He was finally out of his sleepy stupor and was realizing how the Elders Den--well, where the Elders Den had been--was just a pile of smoking debris and the thick cover of brambles over the Medicine Cat Den was blazing wildly, the fire spreading amazingly fast.

Thick, dark gray smoke was everywhere and he could hear cats coughing and gagging in the background.

"Go into the Nursery and make sure everyone is out!" Stonefang hissed meanly, and then dashed off into the Apprentice Den--probably looking to see if any unlucky cat hadn't been able to get out.

He was still confused. _Where had this fire even _come_ from?_ he wondered. But, he raced off as fast as his long legs could carry him and into the Nursery. The smoke was thicker in here, even though the fire hadn't spread to this part of camp yet.

A queen, the only queen in ThunderClan at the moment, Goldenpelt, was still in the Nursery, to his surprise. She was looking up at him, with extremely pained eyes. She coughed weakly and tried to get to her paws, but she couldn't. Her sides were heaving, so big and rounded....

His eyes widened as he realized she was in a great amount of pain. Her kits....they might even be coming....

He padded hurriedly to her side and let her lean against him. "It's okay....you're going to be fine...." he meowed hoarsely. She just nodded, eyes drooping with exhaustion, and he helped her limp out--just as the fire over came the Nursery.

Oh, great StarClan....

His eyes widened a little, tail bristling. He'd come so close....he hadn't even realized....

He shuddered and helped Goldenpelt stumble out, out of the thorn tunnel and into a more damp area, where pools of water were standing stagnant and the fire wouldn't catch. He could see Pouncepaw, a small gray tom with a fluffy pelt, and Redpaw, a much larger, almost full-grown, ginger she-cat, already out here. Their shoulders slumped and eyes downcast, only glancing over at the smoke leaking out of the thorn tunnel every so often. He bet they wanted to help, badly, but they'd been told not to get in the way.

He gently helped Goldenpelt lay down next to the two apprentices and she let out a soft, relieved sigh. Her eyes were closed now and she was panting raggedly, which worried him. Her fur was patchy with burns, and he licked at them delicately. She looked at him gratefully, but winced in pain every so often. Where was the Medicine Cat?!

He looked into the smoky haze that surrounded camp, but he couldn't see anything. He could just hear the fire crackling and a few random yowls and caterwauls, snatches of conversation carried on loud mews. That was it....

Great StarClan....

***

Spiderpelt continued to stand protectively over Goldenpelt, who was now just softly panting. She hadn't been kitting, she was just very close to it. She looked so broken and fragile, though; her bones plainly seen through her dull, ratty pale tabby pelt, the glossy golden brown color now all but gone and her face was blank, except for a pained, pinched expression.

He sighed softly and finally lay down beside her, resting his head down on the ground, front legs splayed and back legs tucked under him in a seemingly awkward position. After standing for hours, he didn't really care. He was also too tired to move again.

Pouncepaw and Redpaw were now curled up together, his head lying on her shoulders and her face was hidden against his chest. They looked sort of cute, lying that way. They had been so exhausted they'd fallen asleep and were now perfectly silent except for a random cough here and there. Boulderfall was now lying deeper in the shadows, his huge bulk mostly hidden. He was panting loudly and gasping occasionally. He looked stunned, his green eyes wide with confusion and horror. He almost felt bad for him. He'd stayed in the camp longer than him, maybe seen things....

He shuddered a little.

"Are you cold?" Goldenpelt asked him, her amber gaze soft.

She was a very motherly cat; she'd even been that way when they were apprentices. It didn't surprise him in the least she'd become a queen so soon. She'd wanted kits. He just wished he knew who the father was. He'd never asked, though....not wanting to pry....

"No, not at all," he mumbled. He could still feeling the blistering heat of the fire tugging at his pelt. He shuddered again.

"Come over here," she mewed gently, and shifted so she was laying closer to him.

He crawled over weakly and laid his face against her flank. The shuddering stopped as he took in her familiar, flowery scent.

"Better?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "Yes, much better," he murmured, before burying his face into her fur--trying to drown out the frantic yowling coming from camp, pained and scared....

***

Spiderpelt woke up once again, jerking awake--breath coming out harsh and rough. He'd had a nightmare....about the fire. This time, he'd been in camp--not outside of it, making sure Goldenpelt, Pouncepaw, and Redpaw were okay.

In his dream….(well, it had been more of a grisly, horrific nightmare that he'd probably be thinking about for the next moon whenever it was dark out)….he'd watched their leader, Hollystar, lose her last life in the blaze, thrashing in an attempt to get away, yowling painfully.

He shivered, not at all from the chilly air. He had to pretend he hadn't heard anything, even though he had. He was so glad he hadn't seen anything, that he'd gotten out before he'd had to see some of the few remaining ThunderClan cats left over from the green cough epidemic of last leaf-bare die.

Mallowpelt (their Medicine Cat) Dappletail, Specklefoot, Cloudeye, and Yellowpaw—they'd all died in the brutal, fleet fire that had destroyed their camp.

He let out a silent sob, unable to keep it in, shoulders shaking. They hadn't been his kin, but he'd been close to them all.

He could recall in vivid detail Hollystar yowling out his warrior name from Highledge, how fierce her gaze had been in pride when she turned to him--as if he had been her kit and not his mother's.

He remembered being told about how TigerClan got its stripes by Cloudeye, a white elder with long fur and one blind eye, and he remembered training beside Dappletail, a beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat who had been his good friend, and going on patrols with Specklefoot, a mottled tabby who had always been happy, always so happy it had made him annoyed sometimes but somehow had always brightened his day. Mallowpelt, a large brown tabby, had always treated him unfairly and with distrust, but he hadn't wanted the tom dead--even if he seemingly hated him.

Now, they were all dead. He buried his face deeper in Goldenpelt's moonlit fur, trying to control the emotions running rampant through him, which was probably mostly from the nervous energy that had been pent up in him for so long.

"I guess you're as bad off as me?"

He looked over and saw Bramblestrike; his massive head was bowed, eyes downcast, and his broad shoulders were slumped. His amber eyes flashed to his for an instant and he could see so much emotion in them, as they were bright with pain and filled with defeat.

"Maybe," he replied hesitantly, as the cool wind buffeted his thin fur.

He shivered a little and huddled closer to the sleeping form of Goldenpelt, her face peaceful, sweet as she slept.

"She was my sister, you know, Specklefoot," Bramblestrike meowed weakly.

His head snapped up and he looked at him, surprised. He hadn't known that.

"I guess you're just as upset, though, having your mate die, maybe more," he mused softly, face still scrunched up in pain, eyes shining with wetness.

Wait. What?!

"What do you mean?" he asked his mew oddly subdued, curious rather than questioning.

Bramblestrike gave him a pitying glance, and then laid back down--huge head resting on his oversized paws.

"It's okay. Sorry for bringing it up." Bramblestrike's mew was gentle, tender almost. He looked up at him one last time, his expression slightly confused but also with a slight hint of understanding. He let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes finally, his sides heaving slightly as he released his breath.

Okay, what was going on here?! He glared at Bramblestrike's now still form, trying to will him to wake back up and explain everything to him.

Normally, then, when the muscular tom didn't get back up and explain what was going on, he would've questioned him more fiercely, mew demanding and loud, gotten an answer out of him, but he was too tired right now....

He gazed up at Silverpelt; silently hoping all his Clanmates were now hunting in StarClan's hunting grounds--and all of them had died quickly, hopefully without too much pain.

He gradually let his head drop back down onto Goldenpelt's side and let out a quiet huff, before letting his eyes once again droop close.

Finally, he slipped back into sweet unconsciousness and this time he didn't have another nightmare or even dream....

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_A/N: Review please? I love reviews a whole lot--any sort of review (even though I do have my preferences). Plus, I have't gotten a flame yet so that might be an interesting experience...._


	2. Chapter 2: Divided

_A/N: Well, hello there, people of the world! Yes, well, here's the next chapter. So, yeah. I hope you really like it. I'm not sure if this Fanfic is my best work ever, but I'm having fun writing it so I suppose that's what counts. As always, I'd love to hear your feedback, okay? Whether it be a review--even anonymous--or a PM, I just love having people tell me what's good/bad aboiut my work, how to fix the bad parts, etc. It just gives me a fuzzy, warm feeling inside. LOL. _

_Oh, and speaking of which....much thanks to my fawesome reviewer Angeluff and for her adding me to her favorite authors list. If you haven't checked out her Fanfics yet, you SOOO should. They're really awesome. Right now I'm finishing up her "Falling Ashes" and I'm loving it. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, Erin Hunter does. Because, really, if I did own Warriors, I would sooo be working on the next book and not writing down my random ideas and posting them on ._

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**Chapter 2: Divided (Day 4)**

Spiderpelt slumped forward, just looking at himself in the still, grayish water--just a puddle, really, but it worked. He could see his defeated stance, like a heavy weight was on his shoulders even though there wasn't one, how his pelt had gone dull, how his eyes were blank.

He shuddered, and a little life flamed up in his eyes. He licked down his dark brown shoulder fur and swiped a paw over his ears. He didn't care much for appearances, but he wanted Bramblestrike to stop looking at him the way he was and for Goldenpelt to stop shooting him worried looks.

Maybe he'd just been in shock. Maybe that was it.

It was three days after the fire. Three days since ThunderClan was nearly destroyed. There were very few cats left; for example, Pouncepaw and Redpaw were the only apprentices left and Stonefang was the oldest cat amongst them, the most experienced warrior. Unanimously, Stonefang was appointed their motley group's leader.

He considered him a good choice. He'd acted like he'd had ants in his pelt when the fire had been blazing through camp, its thick black smoke choking everyone....

He shuddered and stopped thinking about it.

But, Stonefang had always been a loyal warrior, courageous in battle but gentle enough to play with the youngest kits. He'd been a good choice.

He was pretty sure he was just mindlessly thinking through the last few days, just so he'd be able to remember it later and to keep his mind off the true horrors that were already starting to blur in his memory. He was so glad for that....

"Spiderpelt! Spiderpelt!"

He looked behind him and saw Pouncepaw almost jumping up and down. Not out of excitement, but....he was pretty sure the apprentice started getting nervous when anyone was out of his sight.

Well, Pouncepaw was the youngest cat here....he could only imagine how he was dealing with all of it.

Of course, Pouncepaw was pretty used to drama and grief. His own mother had been a loner and his father, well; his father was....Blackfur, the former deputy, before the last, Birchbranch.

He knew this only because, well, he knew a lot of stuff he probably shouldn't. He wasn't really sure how he knew half of what he did. He just did. He was pretty sure he'd heard that by mistake, though, after supposedly being asleep--knocked out from poppy seeds after receiving a battle wound--and Blackfur had been talking in his sleep....also in the Medicine Cat Den....he'd had a fever, if he remembered correctly....during the green cough epidemic....

Yeah, that was it.

Pouncepaw thought he'd just been a lost kit found on the border. Mostly true, sure. He didn't know his father had been a deputy, though. He didn't really need to know, especially not now--he already had to deal with enough. It wasn't his place to tell him anyway.

"Hey? You okay?" Pouncepaw asked him, head tilted to the side and a slightly worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good." he replied curtly and padded over to the downy-pelted apprentice.

"What were you thinking about?" Pouncepaw asked, looking curious instead of concerned now.

Well, sort of. The underlying strain was there, like Pouncepaw had to try very hard to not start wailing like a kit.

"Nothing important," he replied calmly, and Pouncepaw just nodded once, quickly.

"Oh. Okay. Um, well, Stonefang told me to ask you to go and hunt for the rest of the....Clan." Pouncepaw seemed to have trouble saying the last bit, as if they weren't really a Clan anymore.

"Okay, you can come too if you want," he meowed quickly.

"Really?" Pouncepaw asked, his mew showing his surprise.

"Yeah, come on....Boulderfall and Goldenpelt need something to eat," he replied instantaneously.

Boulderfall had messed up his shoulders pretty bad, trying to drag Redpaw out of the collapsed apprentice den. A tree had fallen onto it....

Boulderfall had succeeded, though, and Redpaw was still alive--even if her bright ginger fur was a little patchy and singed, she'd made it out without more than a few scrapes.

"You seem pretty out of it today," Pouncepaw commented and he just shrugged his shoulders.

The truth was, he knew he was out of it. He felt like all of his senses were toned down, almost obliterated. He wasn't sure how he was going to be able to hunt, when he kept tripping over his own paws....

***

Spiderpelt was currently crouched by a shrew; trying to gulp it down in a few, hurried bites and attempting to drown out the loud argument around him. Redpaw, who was currently slowly eating a small mouse, seemed to be trying to do the same. Her light ginger fur was ruffled on her shoulders, bristled in agitation, and her ears were almost flat against her head.

He almost wanted to all tell them to just be quiet because they were upsetting the youngest she-cat in ThunderClan, who didn't know how to deal with all of this.

Currently, the arguing was about whether or not they should move camp--find a better spot for the time being, at least. It was rational. Unfortunately, Bramblestrike wasn't in a rational mood and didn't want to leave his sister's body. Well, he guessed at the last one. Specklefoot had been buried, but there hadn't been time for a long vigil. Bramblestrike was still....very upset. He didn't blame him for that.

Just to note, he still hadn't had his questions answered, though....

"What?" Bramblestrike was hissing loudly, eyes narrowed into slits. "We can't leave! This is our home! It's been our home since Firestar's time!"

Stonefang let out a long, weary sigh.

"I know you don't want to leave, Bramblestrike, but think about what Pouncepaw smelled. Two-leg scent mixed with that....the odd smelling stuff they left by the WindClan border--the same stuff that we smell now, from the smoke. The fire was started on purpose." Stonefang explained slowly, softly.

Goldenpelt let out a small gasp at the news.

"Maybe the two-legs didn't realize we were here, maybe they did. I don't even know. But we do know the fire might have even started in WindClan's camp, there's a blackened path leading to ours from their territory at least." Stonefang continued, almost calmly.

The almost-panic in his eyes told him he wasn't exactly as perfectly fine as everyone else seemed to think.

He shivered slightly, then. He wondered how well WindClan had survived. ThunderClan had suffered badly from the green cough epidemic last leaf-bare, but so had WindClan--and at least they'd had a fair supply of catmint at the abandoned TwolegPlace. If the fire in WindClan's territory had been worse....maybe actually blazed through their camp....

Ugh. The possibility made him sick to his stomach.

When no one spoke against him, Stonefang let out another short sigh. "See, we just need to move the camp for a little while--to make sure none of the two-legs will come back and act like the mouse-brains they are and hurt, or kill, any other cats."

Boulderfall nodded. "That makes sense," he meowed gruffly, from where he was sitting--resting--a few fox-lengths away.

"I don't want my kits to be hurt...." Goldenpelt's eyes flashed with pain at the thought, even if her kits weren't born yet.

"I don't want to see....that....anymore," Pouncepaw added hurriedly, nodding to the still smoking mess that was considered their camp, still.

"Good, then we'll nest in the clearing for now, as the ground is soft enough for training it will be perfectly fine to sleep in." Stonefang meowed firmly.

"What if it rains?" Redpaw asked, speaking up for the first time.

Normally, Redpaw was a very outspoken cat, challenging anything and everything--now she just seemed frightened, quieter. That upset him a lot. He wished she'd go back to being her sarcastic, old self. At least that would mean things were getting better....

"We'll sleep on the edge of the clearing, under the covering of trees," Stonefang replied, his one hooked fang catching the light and flashed for an instant.

Redpaw nodded, now contented.

I was still uncertain about leaving the camp, but I wanted to get away from the choking stench. I didn't want to wonder about what the smoke came from--what the fire had burned up.

He shuddered. Wow, was he ever acting all doom and gloom right about now....? Well, it did seem pretty bad. First the green cough epidemic, then this. And Mallowpelt hadn't received any signs from StarClan....no omens, no prophecies.

They....hadn't been abandoned....?

Had they....?

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_A/N: Yes, I just planted the seed of doubt. GO ME. Well, this is the second chapter....hope you all like it. I'll be posting the third one today. Um, I'm having a little trouble with the Allegiances and Prologue, though, any ideas? Here's what I have of the allegiances so far, since you guys probably are curious. (What? I can dream, can't I?)_

_**THUNDERCLAN **_

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**BOULDERFALL--large, dark gray tom **

**STONEFANG--light gray tabby tom with one hooked fang **

**GOLDENPELT--pale golden brown tabby she-cat **

**POUNCEPAW--gray tom with a white flash on his chest and green eyes **

**BRAMBLESTRIKE--very pale brown tabby tom with amber eyes **

**SPIDERPELT--brown tom with one black ear **

**REDPAW--ginger she-cat with a flame-colored pelt and amber eyes **

**SWIFTFEATHER--dark blue-gray she-cat with piercing blue eyes **

**SHADOWCLAN **

**JAGGEDCLAW--black tom **

**TIMBERFANG--dark brown tabby tom **

**BEETLEPAW--gray tabby tom **

**MOSSEAR--pale gray she-cat with very small ears and green eyes **

**ROWANPAW--brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes **

**HAZELPAW--white she-cat with gray splotches **

**WINDCLAN-- **

**GORSEHEART--pale gray tom **

**FALLOWPELT--dark ginger she-cat with a white belly **

**ASHWHISKER--very pale gray she-cat with long, sweeping whiskers **

**FURZEPAW--gray-and-white tom **

**RUNNINGPELT--skinny light brown tabby tom **

**RIVERCLAN **

**MINNOWLEAP--light gray she-cat with darker flecks **

**WHISKERFROST--white tom with pale blue eyes **

**STORMSTEP--dark gray tom with black paws **

**FEATHERFUR--silvery-gray she-cat **

**SILVERTAIL--white-and-gray-tabby she-cat **

_**VOLEPAW--small brown tabby tom**  
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_There you go, now you know what everyone looks like....sort of. Um, I'm thinking of writing a couple more of my ideas down and posting them here--so if you have any Clan, or Tribe, names to spare I'd love to hear them--for the next few allegiances. Just, if you'd like to help out. Um, just send me a review or PM, then._

_So, yeah. R&R?_


	3. Chapter 3: The Clearing

_A/N: Like I said, here's the third chapter! I know I really shouldn't post two chapters a day....but, yeah, I just couldn't wait to post it! I hope you guys like this chapter and are happy with getting it early. It might be a couple of days before I update this Fanfic (well, add a new chapter at least--maybe I'll tweak something, or add on the Allegiances or Prologue), just because it takes time for me to write. Um, if you want a character in this Fanfic yoyu'd better ask quickly, because as soon as I start writing the other Clans' parts (which won't include as much as ThunderClan, just FYI) I won't be able to even really think of adding in any OCs. So, yeah. Think about that....since I should be working on WindClan's chapter today. I'm writing it because, well, the fire hit the WindClan camp, too and....well, I'll stop before I give you guys anymore spoilers. ;)_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. Not even myself. How pathetic is THAT?

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**Chapter 3: The Clearing (Day 6)**

Pouncepaw looked around cautiously and padded forward. He settled down to the ground, into a hunting crouch--balanced on his paws and with his tail stiffly behind him.

He sniffed the air again and once again smelled the mouse, just a little upwind of him. He grinned a little to himself and slunk forward just a few paw steps more.

Then, he leaped forward. He landed squarely on the mouse, killing it just by landing on it a little too roughly. Ooops?

"Good job, Pouncepaw," Spiderpelt praised quietly, blinking at him from where he was--still on the edge of the clearing, a dead rabbit under one paw, and about to pad towards the fresh-kill pile.

He nodded silently and carefully picked up the now dead mouse in his jaws and padded back into their new, temporary camp. Stonefang was watching over everything, standing tall--ears twitching only slightly, but otherwise still. It was his turn to guard their brand-new camp.

Stonefang turned to look at him and he almost let out a squeak. Stonefang's eyes were so piercing, it was like he could see right through you--unnerving, almost.

He easily raced away, to the fresh-kill pile, and put his catch neatly on top--right by Spiderpelt's small, yet plump, rabbit.

"Pouncepaw!"

He looked up and saw Redpaw padding over to him quickly, amber eyes warm. "Hey," she mewed softly.

She was still almost silent, now. Almost like Swiftfeather, who was as quiet and kept to herself about as much as a Medicine Cat. She hadn't spoken a single word since the fire....

Well, at least Redpaw wasn't _that_ bad....

"Hi," he meowed back shyly.

He wasn't used to getting Redpaw's attention, as she was over two moons older than him; but, now that they were the only apprentices she'd been very friendly.

"So, how did hunting with _Spiderpelt_ go?" she asked him, her head cocked to the side and her eyes brimming with interest.

Spiderpelt had become his mentor, since his old mentor, Birchbranch, had disappeared. They still didn't know where the cream-colored tom had gone. It still worried him a little....

Redpaw blinked her rounded amber eyes at him and he realized briefly that he hadn't responded. "Pretty good. I only caught that puny, little mouse, though." he replied honestly.

She shrugged. "You're learning. You'll get better."

He nodded. "Yeah, maybe," he meowed, and sat down on the damp, springy earth.

He took the time to lick down his now wild chest fur, getting is just right.

"I'm sure you will. I only caught a squirrel today, too. I think the fire scared the prey off." Redpaw meowed quickly, her eyes oddly bright.

He nodded and just shrugged. "Maybe."

She purred softly and picked his mouse off the pile, as well as a small vole. She then padded over to Goldenpelt and started eating the mouse he'd caught, giving the vole to Goldenpelt.

Huh. Odd.

She confused him a lot.

***

Spiderpelt sighed softly, noticing Pouncepaw talking to Redpaw--then Redpaw going over to lay with Goldenpelt. He sighed softly, from where he lay in the shade-spotted sunlight that filtered through the densely packed trees on the edge of the clearing. Swiftfeather lay nearby.

She was a very quiet cat and he didn't know her that well because she was so secretive. He knew she wasn't the best fighter, but she was an excellent hunter and could snag a bird right out of the air (according to a slightly farfetched story told by Boulderfall). She looked sort of like a WindClan cat, lean and scrawny even when she had plenty to eat, but her dark blue-gray pelt and dazzling blue eyes made him think of the stories about Bluestar.

She finally noticed him staring, as he had nobody and nothing else to really look out, and she gave him a short glare and stalked off, her whip-like tail lashing behind her. Whoa, why was she acting like she had ants in her pelt--just like Stonefang had to him? Was he really that annoying?

Anyway, Stonefang and Boulderfall--he was still hurt, but he was trying to pretend he was fine--had already gone out on patrol, and Redpaw (Boulderfall's new apprentice) had stayed behind, since she'd already been on the dawn patrol and had an assessment. (Stonefang wanted things to go about as normal as possible, obviously.)

He was pretty sure Bramblestrike was off hunting, and probably sulking a little, too. Bramblestrike had been unusually moody, but that was only to be expected....

Finally, he heaved a sigh and stumbled up to his paws, before padding over to where Goldenpelt and Redpaw lay. Pouncepaw was only a fox length or two away, as well, eating a sparrow.

"So, how are you doing today?" he asked Goldenpelt softly.

She opened up her bright amber eyes and purred quietly.

"Pretty good. Redpaw here was nice enough to get me a vole, and earlier Bramblestrike was talking to me." she responded.

He nodded curtly, eyes suddenly blank of emotion. He didn't like the thought of Bramblestrike talking to Goldenpelt, or maybe even sharing tongues with her....

He wasn't sure why. Goldenpelt wasn't his mate--for all he knew she might be Bramblestrike's mate. The thought of that sent a ripple of fury down his spine.

Frankly, that scared him. Why was he so mad?!

***

Spiderpelt sighed noisily and just padded over to a puddle, before crouching down and lapping at the now rippling surface. It tasted almost gritty, with dirt, but he didn't really care. He was so thirsty.

He looked up at the sky and saw a dense covering of clouds, from light, blue-gray to intense black-purple, right at the horizon. He shivered a little. A storm, too--how bad could their luck get? Well, at least that meant there would be cleaner water....

He looked over his shoulder and saw Pouncepaw and Redpaw scrapping right outside the den they'd made yesterday.

The den itself wasn't very big, but it was big enough to hold all of them and it was dry, which would be good when this storm came.

It was just a dense covering of branches with bracken and brambles weaved into them. Bramblestrike, Pouncepaw, and he had worked on it yesterday--while Boulderfall, Stonefang, Swiftfeather, and Redpaw patroled their territory. Now, Pouncepaw and Redpaw were here--along with Boulderfall and Goldenpelt, since Boulderfall still had a fairly bad limp plus his shoulders ached and Goldenpelt was absolutely huge, so close to kitting it was just insane.

He sighed, trying not to think about all that. But, another thing, it had now been five days since the fire--five days! It stunned him.

In about two days, the moon would hang full in the sky, gleaming down on the lake, and it would be time for a Gathering. How weak would ThunderClan look, with only eight cats at the Gathering?

Of course, the other Clans were getting smaller--for whatever reason, all the Clans had bad luck right now. There had been everything from a family of foxes on the ShadowClan border, to crow-food in the fresh-kill pile, to a two-leg's dog getting lose and killing a RiverClan apprentice.

It was....terrifying.

Once again, that brought up his worry. Had StarClan actually....abandoned them? He didn't like that thought, but it made him wonder. StarClan hadn't warned them about the fire, or anything that had happened recently. How could they not see what was happening? Didn't they care?

He just sighed loudly and pressed his muzzle to the cool dirt for an instant, calming himself down once again. _There's no point in worrying about things that aren't important right now._ he told himself.

Finally, he straightened up and padded over, across the damp, spongy earth, to where Redpaw had Pouncepaw pinned under her. Pouncepaw squirmed under her; his gray fur now coated with a layer of mud--making it flat against his body and lying at odd angles, the white mark on his chest totally hidden.

"Hey, Spiderpelt!" Pouncepaw meowed warmly, looking up at him with rounded, soft green eyes.

"Hi," he mewed back, out of habit, and then ducked into the ramshackle den.

Goldenpelt was laying on her side, her huge sides heaving as she breathed and her belly sticking out. She said she looked like a fat badger, but he thought it made her look cute almost.

"Hello, Spiderpelt." Goldenpelt looked up at him tiredly, her amber eyes lackluster in the shadowy den. She looked so exhausted....

"Hey. Um, if you need to rest I can go...." he informed her quietly, a worried look in his eyes.

"No, no, it's fine....I'd love some company. It gets boring being in here all alone." she meowed softly, and then she purred as she shifted a little in her moss-lined nest.

"I can imagine," he meowed in response.

He remembered having to be stuck in the Medicine Cat Den many times before--when he got hurt in battle and from the one time he'd gotten green cough and managed to recover (unlike some)....

"You know, everyone in ThunderClan has been pretty thoughtful recently," Goldenpelt meowed softly.

He blinked and his vision focused on her again. He'd started thinking too hard and forgotten where he was, again.

"How so?" he asked quietly, tilting his head to the side.

Goldenpelt sighed softly, just grinning at him weakly.

"None of you have stopped thinking--constantly thinking about the past. No one can change it and all our loved ones are safely up in StarClan, watching over us. We all just need to move on, no matter how hard it is. We'll all see them eventually, there's no point in pining away for them when it's our chance to live." she explained slowly.

He blinked at her again. He'd never realized Goldenpelt was so....well, there wasn't really a word for it. Smart, solemn, wise--some word like that?

"That's....a new way of thinking about it," he meowed finally, still gawking at her.

She let out an amused purr. "I'm just thinking logically. Our ancestors, and our kin, would want us to rebuild ThunderClan--bring it back to its former glory. How could we do that if we are always moping around?"

He nodded curtly. Everything she had said made sense--to an extent.

"But, I guess it must be hard on you...." Goldenpelt meowed gently, eyes soft.

Great. Not her, too!

"Okay, why does everyone keep looking at me like I'm all pathetic and pitiful?" he asked, claws unsheathing and digging into the firm earth out of frustration.

His darker brown tail whipped behind him as he just watched Goldenpelt for a reaction. She seemed sort of....surprised, stunned even.

"Wait? Weren't you and Dappletail....?" Goldenpelt trailed off, her fur ruffled with embarrassment and he could almost feel the heat radiating off her.

"What?!" he yowled, loudly.

What in StarClan where they thinking....? She had been one of his best friends, sure....and every time when he thought of her now his heart twisted in his chest....but, they hadn't ever....they weren't mates!

He still wished, sort of....that she'd been able to be buried....like Hollystar, Mallowpelt, and Specklefoot....both her and Cloudeye's bodies had been....burned away, they thought. (In some corner of his mind he was glad, because that meant there was a chance they were still alive....somewhere....)

Suddenly, Goldenpelt let out a small gasp--eyes wide. "Are you okay?!" he asked frantically, as she started panting loudly, eyes shut tight now. Okay, maybe that was a mouse-brained question....

Goldenpelt's sides were rising and falling much too fast, her claws unsheathing and sheathing in rapid succession.

"The....kits....are....coming....NOW." Goldenpelt yowled, her mew oddly high-pitched, and every hair on the back of his neck was standing straight up. Oh, great StarClan.

Now? Really?

* * *

_A/N: Oooh. Evil me leaving you guys with a tiny cliffie. LOL. Anyway, I hope you liked it. R&R?_


	4. Chapter 4: Fractured

_A/N: Hello people of the world! Well, this is chapter four--well, obviously--but unlike the previous three chapters it centers on what happened to WindClan. Um, if it stinks just tell me and I'll do a re-write. I'm not exactly sure if this chappie is my best work either, but I just wrote it up quick, got it spell-checked, and decided to post it--so, yeah. Sorry if it's horrible. Anyway, the main character in this chapter is a she-cat named Ashwhisker, and you can see her description in one of the former chapters--chapter two, I think._

_Anyway, enjoy this chapter of "Burning Light"!_

_P.S. Here's a big THANK YOU to all my fawesome reviewers: Angeluff, Stormleaf312, and Irisheart8! Thanks for the name ideas and I bet you'll be seeing them in this other Fanfic I'm working on or later on--here, okay? I'm not sure exactly. I realized I'd gotten waaay too many name ideas. You can blame Angeluff, and a few of my other "RFFs", for that. _

* * *

___**Chapter 4: Fractured (Day 1)**_

Ashwhisker was sleeping deeply, dreaming.

Her dreams were odd--as if she were running, running so fast it wasn't even natural, through thick, dark forest without the light of day. Finally, she burst out of the shadowy woods and ran until she was out on a moor.

It was so different than anywhere else she had been, yet it so much like WindClan's territory, her Clan's territory, but different. There was the same, wide open heather moor, but she couldn't see the Horseplace, or the rolling hills of her territory. It was just flat, seemingly endless with only a two-leg structure and pines far off in the distance. Wait, there were also four, towering oaks in the distance....

Everything was so confusing, she hadn't been able to stop running through the vivid, dark forest, alive with the scents and sounds of prey scuffling around in the undergrowth, or stop making a spectacular leap across a fast running stream.

Suddenly, her dream world quaked, the whole moor shuddering and snapping in and out of focus. She heard a cat yowling her name, but suddenly everything went black....

***

"Ashwhisker! Ashwhisker! Please wake up!"

She opened her eyes to see her young, fluffy-pelted apprentice, Furzepaw. His pale blue eyes were wild with fear, as he was crouched right in front of her, his gray-and-white fur standing on end.

She coughed, her throat aching something fierce.

"What is it?" she rasped.

She felt like she had green cough, again, just like when she'd been a kit.

"The camp's on fire!" Furzepaw caterwauled, his claws unsheathing and sinking into the damp earth.

She blinked and looked around. She was near a stump, blackened and rotting from its age, and sleeping next to a puddle in a dip in the earth. She shifted on the moist dirt she'd been sleeping on, and tried to figure out why Furzepaw thought the camp was on fire....

Suddenly, she looked to her left and gasped, unable to refrain. The Leaders Den was ablaze, fire crackling all over the bracken and bramble that covered the den. She finally noted the thick, choking smoke that almost blocked out the cloudless blue sky.

"Oh, great StarClan," she breathed, she finally put two-and-two together.

Her throat was hurting because of the smoke; the smoke was from a fire....

"Where is everyone else?" she asked curtly, jumping to her paws and nudging Furzepaw to his.

"I don't know!" Furzepaw's frantic yowl almost sounded like a kit's wail, and his eyes were wide with terror.

She took a short breath then just shoved him.

"Come on, come on, we need to get you out...." she meowed commandingly.

"No! I can't find Honeypaw!" he cried out, pressing his face against his paws.

"Get up! She might already be out there!" she hissed, and Furzepaw obeyed her finally, ducking his head down, eyes watering from the smoke and, she bet, tears.

Honeypaw was his sister....well, adopted sister. Honeypaw was a sweet, absolutely delicate-looking, young she-cat with a pale ginger pelt and tiny white paws. They were both only six moons old, just made into apprentices....

She gently led Furzepaw out of camp, pushing him forward with her nose. Finally, they made it out of the eye-watering mess and Furzepaw pretty much collapsed to the ground, choking and gasping.

"Are you all right?" she asked him, sounding like a mouse-brain but not caring.

"I'm....fine...." he meowed quietly, panting. "I think I breathed in too much smoke...." he added.

She nodded in agreement and looked around. She now noticed the other cats, and the panicky caterwauls and yowls coming from the camp. The heather and gorse had been so dry, so brittle....

She shivered. The camp stood no chance; even if they were able to bring up water soaked moss from the lake....it would burn, whether or not.

"Ashwisker?"

She looked up and saw Gorseheart racing towards them. She let out a small sigh of relief, at seeing the deputy, a large pale gray tom.

"Yeah, it's me. Furzepaw's here, too." she meowed back gently as Gorseheart skidded to a halt beside them. He leaned down and nuzzled Fuzepaw's head with his nose.

"Oh, thank goodness...." he murmured quietly, "you're safe...."

Furzepaw purred weakly and glanced up at his father. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Good," the deputy mewed gently. "I'm going to go back; you stay with my son, Ashwhisker."

She blinked in shock.

"But shouldn't you....?" she started to ask, but Gorseheart had already raced off--his long legs powering him over the hilly moor and back into the smoky camp, his bristling gray tail streaming out behind him.

"No...."

She looked down and saw Furzepaw's eyes wide with fear, and he was shaking his head slightly--like he couldn't believe his father had run off.

"Sssh," she mewed gently, "he'll be fine. He's a strong warrior."

Furzepaw glared at her briefly, then laid down--curling up in a ball, with his white, but gray-splotched tail over his face.

She sighed softly and just crouched down, watching the young apprentice for a moment, then turning to look at the camp. Flames are crackling everywhere now, the dry gorse catching so easily it was scary, almost.

Suddenly, as the bramble that covered the Warriors Den, that was almost never used, collapsed, Runningpelt, a lanky brown tabby tom, raced out. His claws flung up powdery dirt as he ran so fast he actually flew past them, then circled back.

He coughed and gagged; the sound oddly muffled, and finally put down a tiny kit, one of Sweetwind's kits, just a tiny little black scrap of fur that was mewling pathetically.

Runngpelt lay down beside the kit and licked it off. "You're okay...." he kept murmuring to it. She remembered vaguely that Sweetwind was his sister.

"Where's Sweetwind and Blossomkit?" Furzepaw asked softly, looking from the small, only a few days old, kit to the leggy Runningpelt, whose ears were twitching.

"She's coming now," Runningpelt meowed firmly, just as Sweetwind padded out of the camp hastily, stumbling forward.

Runningpelt loped over quickly and helped her stand. He took the kit from her and she immediately started hacking, even sneezing a few times. "Come on, just a little farther," he prompted, and she followed him over.

The plush-pelted, smoky blue-gray she-cat nodded to them in greeting, then laid down next to Sorrelkit. Yes, that was the little black she-cat's name....she finally had remembered....

Runningpelt gently placed Blossomkit, a small, pale she-cat with darker stripes, down in front of Sweetwind. Both of the extremely young kits crawled over to Sweetwind's belly and started suckling, a sweet but unnerving noise with the fire blazing only fox-lengths away.

"I think we should move, cross the stream and get closer to the ThunderClan border. If we move north, up closer to the Moonpool, the fire won't be able to reach us." she meowed finally, getting to her paws.

The stream was running low....no water and just dusty earth in some places....but if they went up it far enough....

She nudged Furzepaw and the young tom got to his white paws.

"But, what about Gorseheart? And the others?" Furzepaw asked weakly, fear evident in his eyes.

"They'll be fine, right now we need to get everyone here to safety," she meowed in response and Furzepaw just nodded and squared his shoulders.

"Um, Ashwhisker? Sweetwind inhaled a lot of smoke, could you carry Sorrelkit? I'll get Blossomkit." Runningwind mewed softly.

She just nodded and picked up Sorrelkit, who started mewling in complaint, by the scruff.

Runningpelt grinned at her weakly, and then picked up Blossomkit. The pale-pelted she-cat just blinked in surprise and squirmed slightly, but didn't put up as much of a fuss. She got the feeling that was a bad sign....

They needed to move, now, before any other cat here inhaled anymore smoke.

***

Ashwhisker finally could relax--somewhat.

In a mossy spot far enough away from the bank of the stream, the farthest part across they could find, Sweetwind laid, nursing her two kits; Runningpelt was curled up, his eyes shut and his breathing even, a fox-length away; and Furzepaw was settled, eating a mouse he had caught, nearby.

Furzepaw's eyes kept flashing with worry, though.

But, even though their trek through the lush greenery, the blooming heather and gorse, then along the wind-blown reeds along the straight shot of silvery-water their scent would still be everywhere. Anyone would be able to find them--even Furzepaw's kin--but the small apprentice wouldn't believe her. Or, if he did, he was still worried enough about them to not be able to settle down.

That made sense, sort of. Every cat was paranoid. Their own leader, Redstar, had been captured and taken by two-legs, or so everyone thought (she hoped maybe he had just broken under the pressure and become a kittypet, but she doubted it)--and not even a single cloud had covered the moon, even after he had been gone for days.

And, because they didn't know what had happened to him, Gorseheart hadn't been able to get his nine lives. It was all so confusing and stressful. She just hoped StarClan would send them some sort of sign....soon.

The thought made her wonder about her dream....had that been a StarClan sent dream? It seemed a little random to be one, though, so it probably wasn't. It still made her wonder, though....

How had she been able to see a place she'd never been to before?

* * *

_A/N: R&R? Pretty, pretty, pretty please R&R? If it needs to be edited again, just speak up and I'll devise it...._


	5. Chapter 5: Now What?

_A/N: Hello people! First of all, I would like to thank all of my awesome reviewers: Angeluff, Stormleaf312, Irisheart8, and iMooneh. Thank you guys, so much. Reviews mean A LOT to me, trust me. Oh, and thank you for submitting names, Stormleaf312, they will be mostly used in the Fanfic (currently untitled) I'm working on as OCs, or possibly main characters, if I feel like it._

_Oh, and sorry in advance for this chapter being a little shorter than usual. I got sick before Spring Break so now I have make-up work. Ugh. There are three Tests I still have to take....man, I should probably get back to working on that after I post this...._

_Anyway, yeah, sorry about the short chapter. Hopefully, I'll be posting the next chapter soon--and it will be seen through the eyes of one of the ShadowClan cats, I do believe. I'm not quite sure. Maybe it'll be ShadowClan AND WindClan, with a page break....I don't know. If you guys have ideas or suggestions just let me know._

_Hmm, well, I think I was going to say--wait, type--something else, but oh well. *shrugs* On with the Fanfic! Since, half of you guys probably don't even read my A/Ns...._

* * *

**Chapter 5: Now What? (Day 6_--continued_)**

Spiderpelt paced outside of the den that they'd made, his dark brown tail lashing behind him a little as he stalked back and forth. Swiftfeather was inside, gently cooing to Goldenpelt, who he could hear panting. Swiftfeather was finally speaking, as now, he supposed, she felt needed. She'd started to train as a medicine cat apprentice, but then decided against it--not being able to handle the lifestyle, or something.

Hollystar, when she'd been alive--and his mentor--she'd told him StarClan had sent a sign to the medicine cat, Mallowpelt of course, that Swiftfeather wasn't the cat meant to be the medicine cat. Swiftfeather still held a slight grudge for that, but whether it had been about Mallowpelt himself or StarClan he didn't know or care about right now.

Finally, he heard the soft wail of a kit and his mismatched black-and-brown ears pricked forward. Goldenpelt was still panting, but he could definitely hear the soft mewling of a newborn kit. He purred in happiness, knowing that they were both okay--well, he thought.

He looked back, over his shoulder, as he heard a shuffling of paws. Boulderfall was limping over to him, a friendly look on his broad face. "Hey," he meowed softly, "how are you doing?"

Boulderfall sat down and wrapped his thick, fluffed-up tail around his paws--shivering in the slight chill. It was an unusually cold day, but a storm was coming in--the nasty purple-black clouds clogging up his view of the horizon, blocking out the sun.

"Okay, sort of. Kind of worried." he responded swiftly, still pacing.

He finally stopped and just kneaded the earth with his claws.

"I'm sure Goldenpelt is doing just fine," Boulderfall mewed simply, looking concerned but not all that worried.

He huffed softly and just clawed the ground.

"Well, she'd better be," he mewed harshly, quietly.

"I bet you'll be able to see Goldenpelt in a minute, try to calm down," Boulderfall meowed softly, and placed a fuzzy-leafed plant with tiny blue flowers on it in front of him. "Borage. I figured it might help. I remembered it from when Cloudmist had kits." he explained quietly, mentioning the pure-white queen that had disappeared along with Blackpelt and Birchbranch. Her two kits had both died from green cough, though, and the thought made him wince.

"Um, what does it do?" he asked finally.

Boulderfall shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Mallowpelt said it helped with queens making milk. I supposed it would be good for Goldenpelt."

"That was nice of you," he meowed, eyes narrowing a little.

"Yeah, well, I figured it would be good. Goldenpelt is my kin after all." Boulderfall meowed in response.

He blinked, surprised. They were kin? He felt an odd wave of relief course through him.

"Really?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, we have the same father," Boulderfall replied, his mew oddly cold as he mentioned this. He shuddered a little, then padded off--leaving him alone with the few young borage plants, still fresh and green, smelling of earthy, black dirt.

"Spiderpelt?"

He turned at Swiftfeather's meek mew. Her shoulders were slumped a little, which sent waves of panic through him. He heard kits mewling, though. OH, GREAT STARCLAN NO!

He was trembling already, without even knowing if anything was wrong with Goldenpelt.

"Calm down!" Swiftfeather hissed quietly, shoulder fur bristling. "Goldenpelt is perfectly fine, just tired. Like how I'm exhausted."

"Oh," he mewed weakly. Swiftfeather just shook her head at him, then glanced down at the borage.

"Take that to Goldenpelt," Swiftfeather ordered, and then breezed back into the den. He padded in and went over to Goldenpelt, who was lying down on her side, eyes shut. Three tiny kits were suckling, their small bodies pressed against her. They all seemed so....undersized. Maybe they had been born early? He didn't know, as Goldenpelt hadn't told him about her being expecting until it was pretty obvious to him that she was.

Goldenpelt finally opened her eyes, and looked up at him, her amber gaze showing how exhausted she truly was. She was still breathing raggedly, which worried him.

"You okay?" he asked finally, his mew soft.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just worried about the kits." she meowed back, softly nudging the smallest kit, a delicate-looking light brown tabby. He was pretty sure it was a she-cat, with how absolutely tiny it was.

He was slightly confused. "Is there something wrong with them?" he asked worriedly, his ears going back a little at the thought. Goldenpelt didn't deserve to have unhealthy, or sickly, kits. They should be strong, sturdy--so she didn't have to suffer anymore.

"On-one was born dead," Goldenpelt mewed brokenly. He let out a short, unwilling gasp. He padded over to her and nuzzled her head, not really thinking about what he was doing. He was pretty sure he was overstepping boundries, though. He shouldn't be like this to her....

"Where is it, then?" he asked quietly.

"Swiftfeather went out to bury it, just a few minutes ago. It was a blue-gray tom." she meowed weakly.

"I'm sorry," he mewed, not sure what he was sorry about--he just was.

"It's not your fault. I still have three kits, anyway. I'm just worried about them, too. They're so small, and the little she-cat doesn't seem to be breathing right, still." Goldenpelt meowed quietly, her mew heartbreaking.

He hoped they'd all be okay, for her sake. The way she looked at them--he could already tell she loved them dearly. Well, of course she did--they were her kits after all....

***

Spiderpelt watched Goldenpelt as she stared down at her beautiful kits. It had been a few hours since she'd kitted, and now the three seemed to be perfectly fine. Even the little, light brown tabby she-cat seemed to be doing fine, nursing and drinking down milk. Actually, he was pretty sure Goldenpelt was thinking up names, as she looked at each kit with an odd intensity.

"Thornkit, Cinderkit, and Dawnkit," Goldenpelt meowed finally, surprising me and making me jump a little. She purred softly, watching me.

"Um, which are which?" I asked curiously, taking a paw step forward and looking at the three.

"The tiny, light brown tabby she-cat is Thornkit," Goldenpelt meowed gently, "the golden brown she-cat with the white belly is Dawnkit, and the fluffy, light gray tom is Cinderkit."

I let out a soft purr. "Those are perfect names."

She nodded her head a little, a pleased look on her face. "Yes, I thought so," she mewed softly, looking down at the kits in slight awe, as if she couldn't believe they were hers.

"Uh, well, I'm going to go now. I'm supposed to teach Pouncepaw a few battle moves. I'll see you later, okay? I'm sure Swiftfeather will take good care of you." I meowed calmly, as one of my ears twitched.

She just nodded, her eyes drooping a little out of exhaustion.

"Okay, see you later," she mewed softly, before resting her head on her front paws.

***

Spiderpelt let out a quiet sigh and tapped Pouncepaw's shoulder with his tail-tip. Pouncepaw looked up quickly, his green eyes curious.

"We're going to train for a little bit, teach you a few basic battle moves just in case," he explained softly.

Pouncepaw nodded ecstatically, his head bobbing quickly.

"Bye, Redpaw, we'll be right back!" Pouncepaw stated quickly, and brushed against Redpaw quickly before padding over to him.

He almost let out a purr of amusement. Pouncepaw probably thought of Redpaw as a playmate, and the she-cat probably thought of Pouncepaw the same way, but it was still cute. Maybe they would become mates eventually? That would be nice, he guessed.

"So, is Goldenpelt doing okay?" Pouncepaw asked him curiously, as they padded a little bit away, more in the center of the clearing and away from the den.

"Yes, she has three healthy kits, too. Thornkit, Cinderkit, and Dawnkit." he explained softly, his gaze falling on Stonefang and Bramblestrike, who were coming back from hunting, their jaws laden with prey. He could smell vole and mouse, maybe some sort of bird, to--a good catch.

"That's great!" Pouncepaw exclaimed. "I can't wait to show them around the clearing and teach them....stuff. Like how to do the hunter's crouch."

He let out an amused purr. Pouncepaw was always so exciteable, but maybe that was a good thing. Although, it was hard to wear him out enough for him to just stop moving and go to sleep. Them all sleeping in one den was sort of difficult, since both Pouncepaw and Redpaw both seemed to have boundless energy and would stay up later whispering about what they wanted to do the next day....

***

Spiderpelt yawned as quietly as possible. The storm had hit them, hard, and every so often thunder would roar above them, just over the loud sound of the rain beating down fiercely on the clearing and the trees moaning as the wind beat against them, some leaning with the force.

He winced a little as a claw of lightning ripped through the sky, turning the clearing and every cat in the den an eerie bright blue. He shuddered and scooted over a little, accidentally swatting Swiftfeather in the face with his tail.

She glared at him; dark blue eyes narrowed into slits, but just moved away a little.

He sighed quietly and rested his chin on his black fore paws, tired beyond belief. Everyone else was asleep, but him now.

Swiftfeather had already drifted off, a rare amount of peacefulness on her face now, her tail tucked over her nose and her sides rising steadily with her breath.

Pouncepaw and Redpaw were curled up around each other again, too, and Goldenpelt was curled protectively around her two tiny kits, deeper into the den. Stonefang, Boulderfall, Bramblestrike, and he were nearer to the entrance of the den, keeping the harsh, water-bearing wind from hitting the younger apprentices or Goldenpelt's kits.

He shivered again, and just tucked his paws under himself, sighing quietly as he tried to find comfort in the steady pounding of the rain against the den walls....

He wondered, briefly, before he fell into slumber about what would happen to them now? Tomorrow night was the Gathering, in truth. The moon, blocked out mostly by the bramble overhead, black in the dark, was almost full, if you took a look at it. He'd misjudged the time, but now there was only a tiny slice missing. It would be any day now that they would have to explain what happened to the other Clans....and hope they didn't drive them out of their territory before Stonefang could even be granted his nine lives and take his star name....

* * *

_A/N: R and R, please? Oh, and if you want I can send you a sneak preview of the Fanfic I'm also working on. Buuut, here's the thing--you have to review or PM me to get it. Mwahahaha. Aren't I evil?_


	6. Chapter 6: Monsters

_A/N: Hello! Wow, my life has been hectic. I have school, a part-time job, etc. Ugh. Even on Spring Break I didn't get to update as much as I wanted to. There was supposed to be new chapters for a couple of my Fanfics. _

_Oh, and THANKS my awesome reviewers: Irisheart8, Angeluff, Stormleaf312, etc. You're all fexcellent. Oh, and much thanks to iMooneh who seems to believe my Fanfic is "awesomeness". LOL._

_Anyway.... here's the next chapter. It's based in ShadowClan, from the POV of the leader, Snowstar. Here are the basic allegiances for ShadowClan....so far.... Oh, and note ShadowClan will be the biggest Clan in this Fanfic.... Cue drama._

**SHADOWCLAN **

_LEADER_

SNOWSTAR--large white tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes

_DEPUTY_

SWIFTFOOT--light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

_MEDICINE CAT_

MOSSEAR--pale gray she-cat with very small ears and green eyes

_WARRIORS_

TIMBERFANG--dark brown tabby tom

JAGGEDCLAW--black tom

NIGHTFANG--smoky black she-cat with a bushy tail and dark amber eyes

DARKCLOUD--very dark gray tabby she-cat with bright green eyes

RAINPOOL--lighter gray tom with fluffy fur and dark green eyes

REDFLOWER--bright ginger she-cat with piercing amber eyes

_APPRENTICES_

ROWANPAW--brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

BEETLEPAW--gray tabby tom

HAZELPAW--white she-cat with gray splotches

_QUEENS_

LARKFLIGHT--mottled brown tabby she-cat: the mother of Timberfang's kits Brindlekit, darker brown tabby she-cat, and Crowkit, a sleek black tom.

_ELDERS_

???

* * *

**Chapter Six: Monsters (Day 6) **

_**PLEASE READ THIS.**_

_TEASER CHAPTER: PLEASE COMMENT IN THE FORM OF A PM OR REVIEW TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT IT SO FAR. I.e. If I should only stay in Spiderpelt's POV, or in the POVs of ThunderClan cats, what you think of the characters, etc. Oh, and if you would want longer chapters just ask. I know they have been shorter than my norm. recently._

Snowstar awoke in her den, her vision blurred and distorted before she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She yawned widely, her teeth flashing in the dim light of her den and slowly she got to her paws.  
She shook the moss out of her white tabby pelt and then stretched out her back, rocking back on her hind legs and stretching out her front legs.

She yawned again softly and then looked around, noting the dark hazy sky of early morning as she looked up through the branches of the elderly pine tree above. She padded out of her den, then, quickly, about to gather up the dawn patrol.

Then, she froze. Her ears swiveled as she noticed a faint whirring sound in the distance. She cocked her head to the side, and then looked one way and then the other, her pale blue eyes rounded.  
Suddenly, the sound stopped and a cracking sound followed by a dull thud could be heard in the distance.

Her pelt prickled with unease, and she noticed the markers put on a few trees nearby by twolegs were jumping around in the wind, their bright orange color stark against the pale brown bark of the pines.  
She moved her paws a little, shifting out of agitation. _Something is not right...._ she thought. Her head swung side to side as she looked around once more, one paw still hovering off the ground. At no further sounds, she continued forward, about to meet with her Deputy, who was sitting near the fresh-kill pile. Suddenly, the whirring started again, much louder, and she nearly jumped out of her pelt.  
Bright light cut into camp, blinding her momentarily. She let out a loud yowl, as she shut her eyes against it and stumbled away. She reopened her eyes, but colors danced in them as she tried to focus her eyes on camp--to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, a giant yellow monster shoved into camp, wide metal teeth gaping and digging into the earth with an ear splitting shriek, trees wobbling around it. Her eyes widened, whites showing, in pure terror, her heart slamming in her chest.

Her fur stood on end, as she turned around and bolted out of its path. She saw Swiftfoot, her Deputy, slam into the young apprentice, Hazelpaw, whom she hadn't had a chance to notice, out of the path of the monster.

She gaped, panting, as the pair landing with a subtle thump right before the monster breezed past, churning up the dry earth in its monstrous jaws.

A tree-eater? Like in the elders stories? she wondered. She shook her head in disbelief. No, that couldn't be possible. Could it?

Her blood ran cold with icy fear.

Those same beasts had driven the Clans from their forest home so long ago?

She quickly dashed over to Swiftfoot and Hazelpaw; who were in a tangled heap, looking dazed. She sniffed them catiously, and luckily didn't smell any blood.

"Are you two okay?" she asked frantically.

She was about to call for the medicine cat, Mossear.

Then, Swiftfoot hacked, coughing up all the dust he'd inhaled, and nodded. "Yeah, we're good," he meowed calmly, but she couldn't help but notice how his legs shook as he stood up wobbly.

Hazelpaw nodded in agreement, and then licked her chest fur nervously. Her eyes were still wide, the whites showing clearly. Her white-and-gray fur was standing up at odd angles, and when she shook herself a cloud of dust came loose of her thick pelt.

"Wonderful," Snowstar mewed softly.

And she helped Hazelpaw up, nudging her until she was able to stand on her shaking legs.

"Is everyone else all right?" Swiftfoot asked curiously, a glint of worry in his eyes, even though his face remained perfectly calm, composed.

"I think so, but we should go check--now," Snowtstar responded curtly and she stepped away. "I'll go check out the Elder's Den and Nursery. Swiftfoot, you take your apprentice, Hazelpaw, and go and look in the Medicine Cat Den to make sure Mossear is okay check up on the cats in the Warriors Den." she commanded calmly, and Swiftfoot nodded quickly.

Swiftfoot padded off, heading for the Warriors Den, and Hazelpaw scrambled after him, having to do twice as fast to keep up with his long stride.

She waited until she couldn't see the light brown tabby tom or white-and-gray she-cat any longer, as they rounded the bend, then she went over and peeked into the Nursery.

She had to look away as she saw Larkflight, their only queen. The mottled brown tabby she-cat had been crushed under a small tree that must've fallen when the monster came through, shaking the very earth. Her two kits, a darker brown tabby she-cat named Brindlekit and a sleek black tom named Crowkit, were curled up at her side, making pitiful mewling sounds, with their tiny faces scrunched up.

She let out a shaky sigh and padded over, her heart feeling wrenched. She gently picked up Crowkit by his scruff and took him out of the Nursery, then did the same with Brindlekit, who made a fuss as she tried to pry her away from her mother's side.

She didn't know what to do, though. They had no other queens that could care for the young kits.

Luckily, though, neither of them had their eyes open yet, as they'd been born only the night before. They hadn't had to see their mother, like she was.

Swiftfoot and Hazelpaw now came over, as she was curled protectively around the tiny kits, trying to keep them warm even though it was blistering hot in the sun.

"All of the warriors are fine, and Mossear is doing well, she's just a little frazzled. Obviously, some of her herbs got ruined. Managed to fall in a puddle, or something." Swiftfoot reported, and then his amber gaze fell on the kits. His eyes went sad immediately, dark. "Larkflight?" he asked weakly, and she just nodded in response.

"What happened? I don't get it!" Hazelpaw complained, looking up at her mentor, who looked haggard.

Larkflight had been his littermate, after all. They hadn't been close since some misunderstanding, but still.

"Larkflight died," he murmured quietly, looking at his paws.

Hazelpaw let out a gasp, but didn't say anything, her eyes still widened. "But, how?!"

Swiftfoot hissed softly, and Hazelpaw jumped, backing up a step.

"Please just be quiet. Please." he meowed, looking dejected. "I'm sorry for hissing at you, I didn't mean it....I'm just...."

"Go lie down in the shade for a little while, Swiftfoot. You stay with me, Hazelpaw, and leave your mentor alone for a moment. Let him just grieve." Snowstar meowed firmly, and Swiftfoot nodded without making eye contact.

He padded over to a nearby shady spot and lay down, curling his tail over his nose.

"I didn't mean to upset him," Hazelpaw mewed, looking guilty.

"It wasn't your fault, he just needs some alone time right now. A little later on, go get him something to eat, okay?" Snowstar meowed softly, while looking down at the kits.

What were they going to do with them....?

She shook her head slowly. "Don't worry, Jaggedclaw. I wasn't about to." she mewed calmly, feeling suddenly very unsure of how the Clan thought of her....

Jaggedclaw let out a short sigh of relief, his eyes closing. "Thank you, so much," he mewed weakly, then went over to his brother, who was staring blankly ahead, laying in the scorching sunlight in the middle of the dusty camp.

She frowned and knew she had to do something. She couldn't let those kits die, no way.

She padded over to Mossear, who was guarding the kits--sitting there and watching over them vigilantly, her green gaze never wavering.

"Is there anything you can do for them? Any herb that would keep them full?" she asked hopefully, her mew oddly soft.

Mossear shook her head briskly. "No," she meowed, and her left ear twitched, "there isn't."

Snowstar let out a quiet sigh and her shoulders slumped.

"But, I might have some good news. About a moon ago I was looking around the stream for watermint when I saw an expecting queen laying, sunning herself, on the other side of the border. I believe she had pale ginger fur, but I didn't notice much except for her heavily rounded sides." Mossear explained.

At that, Snowstar's eyes lit up just a bit, as excitement ran quick through her veins. If Mossear was right, maybe they could convince the queen to nurse the kits, if her litter wasn't too large.

She flicked her tail, and then quickly padded over to Swiftfoot, who was eating a vole, sharing it with his apprentice, Hazelpaw. "Swiftfoot, you're in charge of camp for now. I'm going to lead a patrol." she explained quickly.

Swiftfoot looked up in surprise. "Wait--why?!" he asked, seeming frazzled still.

"There's a kittypet up at the twoleg that was expecting kits, and was heavy with them about a moon ago. Mossear saw it when she was looking for wantermint near the stream." she explained calmly. "We're hoping she may still have milk and be able to nurse the kits."

Swiftfoot nodded with a thoughtful look on his face and a glint in his eyes. "Okay. I'll protect the camp and all my Clanmates with my life, I promise." Swiftfoot said curtly, his eyes blazing with honesty.

"All right then. I'll hold you to that." she mewed softly and Swiftfoot just nodded briefly. She padded over to Jaggedclaw, Rainpool, and Redflower. "You two, we're going on a patrol, I'll explain on the way...."

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_A/N: R&R?_


	7. Chapter 7: Anyplace Away From Here

_A/N: Hello, people! This fanfic is back from a long hiatus and after so few ideas have come to mind. I hope to write more shortly, as well, but with school starting and still having a slight bit of writer's block towards this fanfic, I'm not sure. Please send me your ideas and sorry for the bad last chapter. Some of it didn't carry over, or I forgot to copy and paste it—very sorry. I'll try to edit that when I can._

_By the way, I'd LOVE to get some reviews about now…or, well, when you're done reading this chapter. It's a filler, but whatever, right?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, though I'd like to._

_NOTE: Thanks Irisheart8 for giving me the kick in the pants I needed to finish this and get it posted. Hope you like it and if you have any ideas, they're welcome. :D _

_Secondary Note: Yes, this is Th Ghst f Slss Frnc writing this. ...No confusion about my Warriors fanfics even though I let someone borrow my account to write a Flight 29 Down Fanfic I sorta kinda beta'd. _

**Chapter Seven: Anyplace Away From Here**

Spiderpelt felt an ache in his joints as he woke up slowly, still in a daze. He noticed the definite earth smell of dirt and dampness under him. He blinked open his eyes and groaned as he saw he'd been sleeping in a _puddle_.

He sat up and looked around. Stonefang, Boulderfall, and Bramblestrike were still lying in a semi-circle, but they hadn't blocked the icy, sheeting rain enough, obviously, since it had drained southward and turned into slushy mud beneath him.

He wrinkled his nose at his muddy pelt. _This is going to take forever to get off!_

He was slightly more worried about Goldenpelt and her kits, though, frankly. He glanced at the fallow-furred she-cat and found her fast asleep, safe in a mossy nest. He purred very quietly, reassured. Her kits were safely curled at her belly, as well, their fur a little fluffier this sunrise.

He was slightly glad for the mud coating his pelt in one way, although. He no longer reeked of smoke. It was a welcome change, as far as the smell part was concerned.

He stiffly got to his paws, standing finally, and padded out of the den, into the filtered sunlight. He glanced around the clearing ahead for danger but saw nothing, much to his relief.

He then shook out his pelt, sending muddy droplets flying everywhere.

"Hey!" The startled squeak startled him. He jumped, his pelt bristling, and turned to see Pouncepaw, now splattered with mud.

"Sorry," he mewed, his pelt going hot in embarrassment.

"It's okay, just please don't do that again," Pouncepaw said, as he began licking the mud splats out of his shaggy fur.

"Promise," he said, as he padded over to a stunted pine and started rubbing against the rough bark, trying to rub off the heavy mud.

"So why are you up so early?" he asked the young apprentice.

Pouncepaw shrugged. "I have a hard time sleeping during storms, the thunder keeps me up. So when I heard you get up, I decided to get up, too."

He nodded. "Want to spar, once we're cleaned up?"

Pouncepaw's eyes brightened. "Sure!"

He chuckled, eyeing the young tom. He was as zealous as ever.

"Any moves you want to learn in particular?" he asked, curiously.

"Um, how about, um," Pouncepaw stuttered, looking unsure.

"Come on, I'll show you a few harder ones," he meowed, to quell the younger cat's nervousness. Or, make it worse. It depended on how you looked at it. Pouncepaw seemed to like the challenge, however.

Spiderpelt was panting hard by the time they were done training. Redpaw had joined in about halfway through the practice and after that things had been pretty tough on him. Redpaw was a force to be reckoned with and he bet that soon she'd be made into a warrior.

"Okay, let's go again!" Redpaw said, tawny-colored tail swishing behind her body quickly.

He sighed, rolling his shoulder blades. "I'm getting pretty worn out."

Pouncepaw scoffed. "You're a warrior, you don't get tired."

He snickered at his comment. "Trust me; warriors get tired like any other cat."

"But we need you to be the badger again!" Redpaw whined, her claws flexing in and out of her paws. He already had a knick on his shoulder from said claws.

"No, no, we should probably stop. You can ask Bramblestrike if he'd take you hunting, though," he said, glancing over at the dark tabby tom, who was sharing a vole with Boulderfall.

"Okay!" Pouncepaw yowled and then raced off.

Redpaw watched Pouncepaw race off, shaking her head sadly. "He has such a short attention span."

"In other words, you wish he'd pay more attention to you?" Spiderpelt asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking at the young she-cat.

He eyes flashed and her ears went back, before she ran off, too; a dark orange blur. He chuckled, happy at least some cats were, well, happy.

"Hey."

He looked back to see Stonefang standing about a fox-length away, staring at some spot to his left.

"Yes?" he asked, tiredly.

Stonefang glanced back at him. "Spiderpelt, while Boulderfall is healing, do you think you could take the spot as deputy? Just for now. I mean, it won't be official but just keep doing what you're doing."

He chuckled. "Why ask me to do something if I'm already doing it?"

Stonefang flexed his claws. "No reason. I'm just worried and I guess I'm not thinking straight."

He nodded slowly, glancing at the pale gray tom. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, just nervous about tonight."

He nodded again. "That's understandable, so am I."

"Just be watchful for everyone's sake, all right? Until we're stronger I don't know when we'll be able to relax, but just keep an eye on Redpaw and Pouncepaw tonight. Keep them out of trouble."

"I will, Stonefang, don't worry," he meowed calmly, and then blinked. "Who is going to stay with Goldenpelt?" he asked, worriedly.

"Well, I was thinking Swiftbreeze, since she's a warrior but she also knows enough about herbs to know what to do if something happened, and Pouncepaw, since he's smaller and we need our strongest cats to be shown to the other cats at the gathering," Stonefang replied, thoughtfully.

He nodded, cautious. "Do you think they'll be enough?"

"I suppose. I know I need Boulderfall, Bramblestrike, Redpaw, and you there. You're stronger cats and experienced. Well, the most experienced. It's a lot of guesswork, Spiderpelt."

"I know," he said, as he sat down and licked down his chest fur. "Let's just not bother with it now."

"Okay," Stonefang whispered.

"So, are you going to get your nine lives?" Spiderpelt asked, flicking an ear.

"Of course," Stonefang said, grinning at him slyly. "Why wouldn't I? I'll go tomorrow night."

_There we go. Now he's back to acting like himself._

Spiderpelt quickly scrambled across the felled tree that made a bridge to the island. He knew if he stopped he'd freeze up. He'd done it before. Water had always scared him, when it was in large quantities at least. That's why he wasn't a RiverClan cat.

It probably would help his self confidence in crossing if the tree wasn't so slippery. After last night's rain the tree was still as slick as a damp adder.

It also would help if it didn't bounce once you got to the middle.

He breathed a sigh of relief as his paws hit the spongy earth of the island, the scents of pine, dirt, and RiverClan strong in the air. If anyone's numbers had remained strong, it seemed RiverClan's had.

He winced slightly as he watched at least twenty RiverClan cats mill around in the clearing, their pelts sleek and glossy as always. And they even looked well-fed.

What are we supposed to tell them? He wondered about that, his ears flattening against his head. The RiverClan leader, Ryestar, sat tall on the highest tree branch.

Spiderpelt snorted, remembering how pompous the otherwise nice cat was. If he'd not have that one personality fault, they could've been friends.

As their meager patrol stepped into the clearing whispers abounded. Spiderpelt heard snatches of "Why is the ThunderClan group so small?", "Look how weak those ThunderClan cats are—they only sent five cats to the gathering!", and "What's going on? Where are the rest of them?"

Stonefang let out a tired sigh, right before he jumped onto the branch below Ryestar's. Ryestar's light amber-colored eyes widened. "Where's Hollystar?" he questioned, looking down, as if in hope of spotting the longhaired black she-cat.

Stonefang just blinked at the young leader and Spiderpelt ignored them, as he sat down beside Boulderfall and Redpaw, Bramblestrike directly behind him.

A longhaired pinkish-gray she-cat, the deputy as far as he knew, came up and eyed them all. "Where's the rest of your Clan?"

Boulderfall let out a saddened sigh, before padding up to join her, sitting under the tree where all the deputies normally sat. "Either dead or keeping guard," he replied bitterly.

She flinched and scooted away, as if the condition were contagious.

More whispers could be heard, getting louder and louder. Spiderpelt's ears just twitched from one direction to the next wildly, as he tried not to get overwhelmed. He wondered why Stonefang was waiting to speak, but he supposed he was just trying to follow tradition.

Luckily, it wasn't long before ShadowClan's group came down the hill into the clearing, looking a little worse for the wear themselves. He was oddly glad when he smelled the acid stench of several ShadowClan cats, since he knew that meant Stonefang could talk sooner.

He blinked slowly, as he smelt the milky scent of kits and that of a queen. _What are a queen and her kits doing here?_

He realized Snowstar was at the head of this patrol, although. Her normally silvery-white tabby pelt was marked with grime and dust, which made his hackles rise. What had they faced, to make them bring a queen and kits along?

He spotted the she-cat with the kits a few seconds later. The deputy, Swiftfoot, was carrying a black kit, hanging limp, in his jaws, and a plump orange she-cat followed him, holding a squirming brownish-black kit in her jaws.

He blinked, as he noticed a dark pink collar around the ginger she-cat's neck. _Is that a kittypet? What in StarClan is going on here?_

Every other cat he knew of in ShadowClan, from Rainpool, a fluffy gray tom he'd been semi-friends with as an apprentice, to the youngest apprentice, Hazelpaw—Rainpool's daughter.

He frowned, counting the cats. There were about fifteen here, not counting the kittypet. About the normal size of a Clan, but it seemed odd nonetheless—for the obvious reasons.

Snowstar paid no mind to the scathing, searching comments being thrown at her from the jaws of RiverClan cats and Bramblestrike. Spiderpelt stayed silent.

He stayed silent the rest of the night, as Snowstar told her story and Gorseheart and Ashwhisker, his chosen deputy, talked. He even stayed silent as Stonefang told his story. By then, the Clans were in such an uproar he doubted he could even gather his thoughts to say anything.

He'd been in total shock. _Tree eaters, fire started by two-legs, ShadowClan letting in kittypets to their Clan, dead cats—it's time to move._ It was time to move away from the Lake, even. But, to where? Was there even anyplace to go?

His heart thudded painfully in his chest. _What are we going to do?_

_A/N: Well, I hoped you liked this. R and R?_


	8. Chapter 8: Conversationalists

_A/N: Okay, I have to say I feel really bad about not updating quickly. I've tried my best but the ideas I've had are scanty. I'm now back to work on this. I'll probably not post another chapter in two weeks—because I'll be in Europe—but I will try to update on every Friday otherwise. Thanks anybody who has stuck with my story. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own "Warriors", since I'm none of the Erin Hunter chicks._

_P.S. Mucho thanks to Emberwood, who helped me find ideas on how to carry this on. Thanks to all my reviewers, too._

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**Chapter Eight: Conversationalists**

Spiderpelt sighed softly as he watched the argument unfold before him. He tried to tune it out, waiting for a brief rundown from Boulderfall later, and he just focused on the cats around him.

They seemed part stunned, part dazed, and part disbelieving. The latter part was normally the expression on the RiverClan cats' faces. They seemed to think this whole thing was a joke, some sort of trick, if you went by their whispers and the annoyed comments from Heatherheart, the deputy of said Clan.

After a pointed look from Bramblestrike, who seemed too shell-shocked to want to move, he got up with another, louder sigh, and padded into the mix of leaders, deputies, elders, medicine cats, and smart-alecky younger cats. He supposed he fell into the last category.

"So, what's going on?" he asked tiredly, as he sat down beside Boulderfall, who then shot him a grateful look.

Ryestar hissed. "I don't know, you tell me. What's the meaning of this—scaring my Clan? Are you all insane?"

Gorseheart's fur bristled as he paced. "We're not insane. We're speaking the truth, you mouse-brained RiverClan fishface."

Heatherheart blinked owlishly at him, obviously unsure as to how to respond to the bitter, hateful comment.

"At least you were spared," Gorseheart muttered to himself, before he just lay down on the dirt.

Ashwhisker looked down at him sympathetically, before her eyes snapped to Snowstar's. "Is it true—about the tree eaters?"

"Of course," Snowstar replied tiredly, "I wish it wasn't, but it is nonetheless."

Mossear, the ShadowClan medicine cat, just shook her head sadly, eyes big. "I can't even believe it."

Spiderpelt eyed the medicine cat and then the RiverClan medicine cat, Whiskerfrost.

"You know, it might be a good idea for the medicine cats to go to the Moonpool," he mewed softly, "to see what our ancestors think about this."

Mossear's eyes lit up.

"...That would be great!" she meowed excitedly.

Whiskerfrost grumbled, however. "It isn't the proper time..."

Minnowleap, a grayish RiverClan she-cat, rolled her eyes at the elderly medicine cat and nudged his shoulder. "It doesn't matter. I think this is a cause for an allowance."

"'Suppose..." Whiskerfrost murmured.

"It's settled then," Sleetfur, a black RiverClan tom, mewed. "Are there any other medicine cats?"

"No," Gorseheart admitted with a sigh.

"Unless you count a previous medicine cat apprentice," Stonefang mewed.

"He could come, too," Mossear meowed soothingly in response, trying to calm everyone's ragged nerves.

Spiderpelt was starting to like the tiny she-cat. He had to correct her, though. "_Her_ name is Swiftbreeze."

"She sounds like a WindClan cat," Ashwhisker praised.

Boulderfall rolled his eyes. "Does this all really matter? The big question is what we do from here. StarClan can only do so much."

"Doubter," Whiskerfrost hissed, the fur on his shoulders rising a little.

Sleetfur just put his tail-tip on his shoulder and he seemed to calm down a bit.

"Isn't that the truth, though?" Snowstar asked. "What do you suggest, though, Boulderfall?"

Boulderfall shrugged one shoulder, his unharmed one. "I suggest we stay here, until we figure out a plan. I mean, you know, until the medicine cats come back and all."

Ryestar and Heatherheart both shook their heads.

"Our Clan is too big to stay safely here. You can do this, but we won't."

"What do you mean, stay safely?" Jaggedclaw, a black ShadowClan tom, asked harshly.

Ryestar eyed him like he was crowfood. "I mean, we have to watch our backs. I still don't totally believe this isn't some way to do something bad to my Clan. Plus, we can't feed everyone."

Stonefang nodded slightly. "I don't think staying on the island is the best idea, either."

Boulderfall winced. "Okay, then what do you suggest?"

"We go home and sleep on it," Stonefang mewed. "And hope we get some answers in our dreams."

Jaggedclaw huffed, not liking that answer.

Spiderpelt bet he was the sort of cat who only knew how to respond to situations with violence. But, everyone _was _under a lot of stress...

"I think we can all agree on that. ShadowClan will stay here, though," Snowstar mewed.

"WindClan will go," Ashwhisker and Gorseheart meowed, almost simultaneously.

Ashwhisker let out a brief, forced chuckle. "We didn't bring everyone, so we'll have to."

"Same here," Spiderpelt admitted.

Goldenpelt, or Pouncepaw, might get worried if they didn't come back tonight.

"Then it's agreed," Heatherheart mumbled.

Spiderpelt nodded and then padded off, knowing this conversation was over. They needed to get home now. ...Even if it wouldn't be home much longer.

Spiderpelt sat, right outside the den, just looking up at the stars. He'd decided to stand guard tonight, since he did have the energy. His thoughts were racing too much to sleep.

He glanced to his left when Stonefang came around the bend, back from wherever he had been. He'd been out for a while. He felt pleased when he saw a mouse and a vole hanging from his jaws by their tails, however.

Stonefang dropped the two pieces of prey on the fresh-kill pile then padded over. "I'd like to say thank you for all your help, Spiderpelt," Stonefang meowed quietly.

He chuckled softly, then; in the same way Ashwhisker had at the gathering.

"I have a funny way of showing it, too."

He blinked, not sure what he meant by that.

"Since Boulderfall's shoulder is still healing, would you mind coming with me to the Moonpool? Before we left I found that Gorseheart is going as well, to get his nine lives. I figure we could use having a new bond between all four Clans; since Mossear and Whiskerfrost will go tonight as well."

Spiderpelt nodded, understanding.

"I'll be taking Swiftbreeze as well, as our medicine cat—she already knows—so just wake up Bramblestrike and ask him to guard camp the rest of the night."

"Okay," Spiderpelt agreed, easily. He'd do whatever was needed of him, as long as it didn't break any rule in the Warrior Code.

"Be at the split pine down by the south end of the Clearing as soon as possible, I'll be going there now," Stonefang whispered, before turning tail and padding off.

Spiderpelt felt a chill go down his spine, at the thought of being underground later, and then headed for the den.

He maneuvered around Boulderfall and woke up Bramblestrike and nudged Swiftbreeze out of a light doze.

_I wish I could say goodbye to Goldenpelt..._ he thought, as he looked down at the golden she-cat's sleeping form. _But she has kits to care for...she needs her sleep..._

He just shook off the traitorous feelings he had about the she-cat and padded out of the den, heading for the well known split pine that was now their "border" marker.

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_A/N: There you have it; the next chapter. Not very exciting, I suppose, but there'll be a steady build up from here. "See" you guys later!_

_...By the way, thanks for the kind words, too. :)_


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